Francois Darlan

Francois Darlan (7 August 1881-24 December 1942) was Prime Minister of Vichy France from 9 February 1941 to 18 April 1942, succeeding Pierre-Etienne Flandin and preceding Pierre Laval. Darlan was formerly an admiral in the French Navy, and he commanded French forces in North Africa during World War II; in November 1942, he surrendered North Africa to the Allied Powers after Operation Torch, and he was killed by an angry anti-Vichy, monarchist student in December.

Biography
Francois Darlan was born on 7 August 1881 in Nerac, Aquitaine, France. He graduated from the Ecole Navale in 1902 and served in an artillery battery at the Battle of Verdun during World War I, rejoining the French Navy after the war's end. In 1929 he was promoted to Rear-Admiral and became a Vice-Admiral in 1932, achieving the title of full Admiral in 1936. In 1940, Darlan was appointed Minister of Marine of Vichy France after Nazi Germany set up Philippe Petain as the head-of-state of a puppet government in France during World War II. Darlan initially believed that Nazi Germany would be a strong ally of France and wanted to wage naval war against the United Kingdom, but Adolf Hitler said that he wanted France to remain neutral while he invaded the Soviet Union in 1941; after Hitler's invasion of the USSR failed and Syria and Lebanon were lost to the Allied Powers, Darlan lost his faith in collaboration with the Nazis. On 18 April 1942 he was replaced as Prime Minister of France by Pierre Laval due to his shaking loyalty to the Germans, but he retained the title of Commander-in-Chief of the French Armed Forces.

On 7 November 1942, Darlan headed to Algiers to be with his son, who was hospitalized with polio. At the same time, the Allied Powers launched Operation Torch, invading French North Africa. Initially, Darlan led the French soldiers against the Allies, but on 10 November 1942 he decided to join the Allies after months of negotiations. All French forces in North Africa joined the Free French, leading to the Germans and Italians occupying southern France and ending Vichy France's autonomy. Darlan was the leader of the French forces in North Africa, but on 24 December 1942 he was assassinated by monarchist student Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, who was a monarchist French Resistance member in Algiers.